my pop

this time of year is sometimes pretty rough for my family. i try pretty hard not to pay attention to the dates, but i think i just usually feel it in my bones. i used to skip class, take the day off of work, bury myself in blankets, and sleep it off. but today, i'm starting a new job, and tomorrow, i'm celebrating an anniversary. i think he'd want me to focus on those things, rather than hide from life.

death is something that didn't touch my life until my pop passed away, and it hit us all HARD. it still does.

that's me with the laugh and the bowl cut, my cousin whitney with the huge collar, and my pop looking awesome

i was pop's first grandkid, and i like to think that we had a special bond, even though i know all of his grandkids feel the same way. ;) but he was my #1 guy. my first tattoo (and the one that i told everyone was going to be my ONLY tattoo.. hahaaa) is for him. i think he'd be cool with it, probably. maybe. sometimes i get really, really unbearably sad that austin and avery will never get to meet him. fortunately, i think kendall and i have stories for months about how awesome he was. <3

some old pictures of him were uploaded recently, and i wanted to share them. mostly out of selfishness, but also because they're so cute! i'm thinking if austin's down with it, i might get an old picture of my grandparents blown up and printed poster size like this - they're so adorable! i had a bunch of the two of them saved on my old laptop, but since it died, i'm not sure when they'll see the light of day again, unfortunately. til then, i'll just hold on to these really tight:

grandma's cuffed jeans and visible socks remind me a lot of my current style preferences ;)
AND LOOK AT THAT MUSTACHE.

man, i miss him. <3

the best thursday night i've ever had

i almost titled this post "the best night that i've ever had," but that seems dramatic. i'm pretty sure that it is the best thursday night i've ever had, though.

i can't really remember the moment when something clicked and i became o b s e s s e d with jack white, but i know it was sometime around my freshman year of college. considering the only time i've ever seen him live was with my least favorite of the jack white bands (the raconteurs), this was long overdue.

can i be real for a second? i spent ALL MORNING while austin was at work deciding what to wear. i know. it was like a legitimate 5 hour game of dress-up.

i decided on a black tank top, a 70s skirt that has just been hanging out in my closet, my dollar store frankenstein socks, and my doc martens (in case i needed to stomp some people to get to the front, obviously).

the socks were kinda weird but i was a little obsessed with his eyes peeking over the top of the boots. plus they matched my skirt!

i also brought this goofy purse that i got in dollywood. it's teeny and goes over my shoulder and is perfect for my phone, money, id, chapstick, whatever. unfortunately not for a tshirt and poster, which meant i was carrying a tube around all night, too. but whatever! totally worth it.

i was so giddy. like a child. i posted something on facebook along the lines of, "i'm sure that you can imagine how much i'm annoying austin right now," and the only other person who has seen me at a jack white concert liked the status. ;)

we did have car trouble on the way there? which was weird, and i freaked out a little (read: a lot). but i took this cute picture of austin:

and then we were basically there. we stood in line for about 2 hours before we were let in, and then i annoyed (probably) everyone around me for an hour and a half before the concert started.

i could talk/write about this show forever probably, but i won't.. i guess. the "set list" (jack doesn't have set lists, which i only know from my pre-concert research) was a really cool combination of white stripes, raconteurs, dead weather, jack white, and bluegrass/country/blues-songs-i-didn't-recognize. he played with the guy band, which i ended up being really into, even though i thought i wanted the female band. okay, but - i really want to see him again, but with the girl band! you know, for the different songs! i didn't get to hear "love interruption" live, and i'm wondering what else he would've played with them. one huge shock (on my part): i only cried once!! i teared up consistently, like every time austin acknowledged what i was watching (by hugging me or rubbing my back or whatever), but i only full-out cried when he played "hotel yorba." i have no idea why. also, his encore was 6 songs long.

you guys, it was just so much fun. we were lectured about not taking photos or videos, because they had a professional photographer onstage and the pictures would be free on jack's website (so you can imagine what the background to my laptop and phone is going to be for the rest of forever). also my cell phone pictures just would. not. turn. out. so really, you probably don't believe me that i was there. i actually can't believe that i was there.

so, i'm glad i bought this poster.

i'm going to end this here, or else i'll gush for another two hours. of typing, which is like probably 7 more paragraphs.

i promised austin that we would never, ever miss another jack white show, ever. <3

ps, my ears are STILL ringing. ~no regrets~

my first guest post (awww)

hi guys! just a quick post to let you know that i was over at my girl allie's blog, beauty and the feast, for a guest post today. my FIRST guest post. man oh man, i was nervous.

look really closely and notice the bunnies in this skull's eye sockets. please.

it was just a quick little lesson in how to wear ankle boots. check it out, if you feel so inclined. :)

thanks again, allie!! <3

trip to the science museum

our downtown science museum is one of my favorite places in the whole world. it's not crazy or anything, but it's perfectly sized for a day trip and exploring when you just want to. unfortunately, it's been under construction for a loooong time (and will be under construction until next summer), and the new home of the science museum is kind of a let down.. but we decided it'd still be a fun thing to watch avery experience, and it was.. sort of.

there were like three things that she liked, and she was totally uninterested in the things that we thought she was going to lose her mind over. i guess toddlers are just like that.

i do know one thing, though - a baby drum set is definitely in avery's future. one that we'll leave at her pop's house. ;)

so, that's my sister.
also a giant mouth that we. were. all. about. and avery was its #1 hater.

pretty sure she just loved that we were letting her do whatever she wanted with a computer. but this one read her whatever she typed!!!! ...magic. ;)

i feel bad that i'm being kinda rude, because it was all adorable to see through avery's eyes which was our original point, and the new museum sounds awesome, so i can't wait to take her there.. but this was just kinda silly. the most interesting part for kendall and i was talking to the employee about tarantulas.. because there were two just HANGING OUT at the front desk. ugh, geez, not my favorite thing.

after this, we both got maximum cuddles from avery and ate fast food for lunch and watched some spongebob. it was cute. i love days with these two. <3

sweater swednesday

in the interest of full disclosure, i should let you know that it was actually way too hot for me to be wearing this sweater on this day. WAY too hot. but i was so excited! i've been layering like crazy for the past couple of days, and this sweater has just been WAITING to be worn, and i jumped the gun today.

but it was too hot.

but i made it work, kind of. either way i was super excited to be wearing it! even if my bangs got sweat-greasy. you know that kind of greasy bangs. :(

sweater: vintage
necklace: cm via local honey
tank top: c/o bentley via austin (you know, my band tee source for life)
jeans: bullhead
shoes: converse

you would think my excitement over this season finally being here would dissipate at least a little, but i think i'm only getting crazier about it? i keep hearing that this is going to be a "BAD winter" and you know what that means: lots and lots and lots of snow. i couldn't be more excited. more clothes in every outfit! snow! this sweater! being outside for more than five seconds!

life rules. :) <3

lately..

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i've been really busy and things have been really exciting lately. i was at my grandma's house last week, and our conversation kept getting interrupted by my texting (i'm sorry, grandma!), but i couldn't stop because i noticed that, while i was texting, almost EVERY SINGLE ONE was about how excited i am - for changes in my life, in my friends' lives, whatever! all kinds of things are happening all over the place and i couldn't be more proud of my friends or more excited :) for my/their future.

last week, austin and i spent a lot of time looking at halloween decorations and deciding what direction to go in with our decorating. one thing that i've kind of noticed (and that i think is austin's ulterior motive) is that every year, we buy halloween decorations and then we end up leaving them out year-round. see: eyeball lights in our kitchen, eyeball lights in our bathroom, giant jack o lantern pillow in the record room, ghost pillow in the living room. i think that i'm actually alright with this little plan of his, but it makes me want to be a little bit pickier buying them in the future. ;) i think this is next on my list!

also last week, i FINALLY got to get my hair cut! i had to cancel my appointment due to a double shift, and then chicago, and then work every day, but fiiinaaallly i got to make time for it. i was super extra excited because my hairdresser's new salon opened up. i tell everyone this, but she is such a huge inspiration to me. every time i see her and talk to her, i'm refreshed and feel a lot better about everything going on in my life. she's just super encouraging.

recently, i started a really dramatic post about relationships and growing up and people and stuff like that that was entirely spurred over seeing an exboyfriend at work. it was uncomfortable and gave me the icks for like three straight days. this is maybe the only by-product of living in this town that bugs me. sometimes people are out of your life for a reason, you know? wah.

next week, i'm starting my new job (it's kind of where i'm meant to be) and i get to bring some of my favorite current employees with me! one of them grabbed me another of our favorite keychains (this one's a bagel!!) and, combined with the deathly hallows keychain that austin's mom brought me back from harry potter world, my keys are getting a little outrageous. i maybe need a different way to display these little guys.

i just caught up on the two first episodes of "parenthood" from the new season and seriously all i want to do is talk about how much i love that show. i love mae whitman's character the most of all, but really every single thing on the show is perfection. ugh. i wish becca lived closer so that we could watch it together and i didn't have to cry alone every episode like a freak. ;)

this really is my favorite time of every year, and it just seems to keep getting better. in case you forgot, i'm seeing jack white this week, and i have two days off in a row to get re-acquainted with the internet. :) how are you guys? anything super exciting and new?! <3

if i had an instagram..

i know, all i ever talk about is how my phone is too old for instagram. one day i'll get an iphone (i'm up for an upgrade, i just HATE cell phone stores and i'm lazy and i'm putting it off in a serious way.. especially now that they announced the 5), but until then.. i'll snap pictures solely to share on the blog.

when i got home from chicago, our jack white tickets were waiting for me!! it's officially less than ten days away and i can't wait. i'm SO EXCITED AH. i think i bring it up like 5 times a day to every person i speak to. what am i going to do when it's over?! haha.

one of my favorite employees (i know, i know.. no favoritism. but i can't help it!) had a birthday this past weekend, and i couldn't help but grab one of our favorite keychains for her. i made a little bow quickly out of random scraps of paper, and it was a sweet little present. :) it ended up being the hot cocoa, which was one that she had wanted from the start. so exciting.

austin and i joke sometimes that if something makes us laugh, we immediately buy it.. and this coffee cup was one of those. it's hilarious! "one day closer to retirement" hahahaa. i've been carrying it in place of my starbucks cup, and it cracks me up every morning.

well, that's all. until next time.. <3

distributing gifts

one of my first stops when i got home from renegade was to visit my sister and avery, so that i could give them their gifts from chicago. it'd been too long since i had seen them last, and since avery seems to somehow grow up way too much in between every single time i see her, i've been trying to make them more of a priority.

kendall and i have been having trouble finding little cardigans for avery now that the weather is cooling down, so when i saw this one at h&m, i had to snatch it up. she put it on as soon as i got over there (over nothing but her diaper) and it was SO. cute. it'll look good over everything this fall/winter. :)

the scarf that avery is wearing in the picture is the gift i brought kendall back from renegade. i found it at the little minnow booth, and kinda wish i had picked one up for myself, too. luckily they both loved their little presents.. especially avie, who wore them around until her bath.

this baby is hysterical. she's a serious snacker. she hardly ever agrees to eating meals, but she'll snack all day long. this day, she did such a good job sitting and eating messy doritos while kendall and i caught up.

dorito face.

<3

our trip to chicago/renegade

the most flattering photobooth pictures ever? probably.

mine and bekuh's chicago trip was so perfect. it was basically the quintessential girls' trip.. lots of chatting, shopping, and eating. i had been harboring a lot of reservations about the trip as a whole and they were almost all gone from the very beginning. as a warning: this post is a modgepodge of my cell phone pictures, becca's pictures, and bekuh's pictures..

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the twelve hour drive seemed to go by preeeetty quickly, which helped. we only stopped a few times, for coffee and mcdonalds. ;) of course.

i went with my own advice and wore a cotton dress, leggings, and boots.. my minnetonka fringe boots, to be exact. it was perfect for driving! i didn't need to make the switch to the passenger seat until a little bit before we got to the city (i had asked bekuh earlier if she could do all of the city driving for me.. i'm a baby).

the first night, i was exhausted but also just so happy to be reunited with becca! we drove around to find a parking spot (i was really nervous about where we were going to leave my car for three days), and then ordered a pizza (obviously - we were in chicago) to eat in becca's apartment. i hadn't gotten to see this apartment yet, so it was nice to be able to piece together all of the pictures she had sent me of it. ;) and also to go through her closet! it was huge and awesome. i want to share a closet with becca one day.

lately, i've been waking up at the crack of dawn (even if i'm still sleepy.. annoying), and chicago was no different. i got up and took a shower before the girls were awake. this was the outfit i wore to renegade!! only i took off the tights for the daytime. the skirt is vintage, found at an amazing vintage attic sale that bekuh and i went to a couple of weeks ago, and the shoes are becca's. :)

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mine and bekuh's feet on the platform, waiting for the l

originally, we were hoping to meet up with katherine (my lovely package exchange partner) for donuts before renegade, but there was construction on the l that got us to wicker park right when renegade was starting. our first stop was the tumbleweeds booth, where there were THREE be(ca)(cca)(kuh)s surrounding me. it was ridiculous. we all oohed and ahhed over the glasses that they brought with them, and bekuh and i both left with some pretty sunglasses.. :)

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at first, we thought it'd be best to do a walk-through and see everything before we started buying, but that quickly dissolved, and we just started checking everything out. there was so much to see! and we even realized that we missed a few booths that we were looking forward to, but it was seriously impossible to navigate around all of those people.

we had lunch at a really cute cafe right off of the festival.

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after about 6 hours (!!!!!) of shopping, we figured it was maybe time to head back to becca's to refresh and go over our purchases. i got a few gifts for family and austin, and my favorite finds (besides my sunglasses, omg) were these little things for our house:

these prints caught my eye early on in the day, and i'm glad i remembered to go back for them. i had been envisioning a tattooed lady/tattooed man print pair for hanging over our bed, but these changed my mind completely. :) they're from methane studios, and you can buy them here and here.

this tea towel is, hands down, my favorite thing that i bought in chicago. it's ridiculous! it's a tea towel with little naked ladies on it! ahhh i'm obsessed. i almost never want to use it so that it's never dirty, but. yeah. it was from bespoke uprising.

this tea towel is a little more traditional. ;) i couldn't pass it up, it was so stinking cute. i actually bought two things from the little canoe, but one is a gift, sooooooooo. i love everything she does, though.

via becca :)
waiting on the l to go shopping, day 2

the next day, we decided we'd be doing more shopping. bekuh was super excited to visit a topshop, and i was looking forward to picking up my dream sweatshirt from an urban outfitters. :) we got so lucky this day, with sales and things we had our hearts set on fitting and being cute. becca took us to an urban surplus store, which was nice because i could get a few things for austin on the cheap.

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this trip came and went SO fast, and i'm so glad that i stressed so much over getting to take it. it was necessary. i wish i could have had more time with becca, but i know we'll see each other again soon. ;)

renegade was everything i thought it would be, and i'd love to go to another one next year! hopefully this time with austin in tow, so i can do more home goods shopping.

<3

whoopsy daisy

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the little canoe was basically our favorite shop at renegade.

uhmmm, i totally spaced and avoided my blog for a long, long time. sorry, dudes. didn't mean to!

to catch you up to speed:
- work has been crazy, which i guess is okay since i took four days off of it to shop in chicago.
- i'm still dealing with residual kitty allergies (or i'm just getting sick, but. i can't be getting sick!), and i wake up with itchy, swollen eyes every morning.
- lots of changes are coming my way pretty soon, which is super exciting and i can't wait to share!
- austin and i have been framing all of the pretty prints and using all of the pretty tea towels i picked up at renegade.
- all of my recent outfits have been -on point- (if i do say so myself..) because it's fall in virginia and i can finally break out my tights and sweaters!!!!
- austin and i have been spending a lot of time watching supernatural and workaholics. it's a pretty good mix.

i'll write about chicago (i promise) and some stuff i've been up to this week, but check out these cool things til then:
- this article about an early love of barack obama's was super interesting.
- well, i'm officially obsessed with kilim pillows (and this blog makes me want to be better at making my house pretty).
- i really want to make these daisy tights like, tomorrow.
- i've been suuuper sentimental lately (mine and austin's 3 year anniversary is in two weeks!), and this first date story killed me.
- this diy rules and as soon as i can figure out a word i really like, it will be on the list for our new place.. whenever/wherever that happens.
- austin and i are obsessed with halloween decorations, and i can't wait to find a spare couple of hours to sit down and make these.
- avery is getting to the point where i'm ready to start making her awesome stuff like this bookcase dollhouse.

see you guys soon. promise! <3

we're back !

i have so many thoughts and things to share from our chicago trip, but i just wanted to pop in and post this picture of me and my girls. this is us sharing a two-seater on the l. :)

thank you, becca, for letting us take over your teeny tiny precious perfect apartment. thanks for handling my car parking neuroses like a champ, thanks for letting me sleep in your bed and being the sweetest about my kitty allergies, thanks for letting me borrow your shoes, thanks for taking us to the cutest restaurants and being cool with my being a serious granny, thanks for being my favorite girl forever.

thank you, bekuh, for the 24(+) hours of constant conversation in the car. thanks for going with the flow when i know you're a planner, thanks for being up for such a silly adventure and being so awesome with my annoying schedule, thanks for letting me borrow your tights!, thanks for encouraging me to go for some of my most favorite goofy purchases, thanks for having the best sense of direction, thanks for constantly pushing me to remember just how much is out there for me to explore (whether you know it or not).

seriously, i missed austin more than i thought i could and i kinda want to go ahead and plan on taking him to renegade next year, but this girls trip was PERFECT. i was sleepy and my sinuses were not feelin it a lot of the time, but we ended up loving renegade more than i thought we would and even the parts of chicago i was nervous about ended up being fun (and yummy).

i'm excited to see bekuh's pictures and to write a more descriptive post at some point. <3

i hit the jackpot, y'all

i'm missing this guy something fierce. going on girls' trips is obviously good for the soul, but austin's my best friend, and being without him for even four days is rough. i don't have one of those never-been-apart-in-our-3-years stories, because we've both left town without the other several times (i actually went to georgia for a week two weeks into our relationship!), but it doesn't make this any sadder.

i put together a tiny little collection of cell phone pictures displaying some of the reasons i. love. this. guy.

- fast food dates with him are always my favorite. we do these a lot less now (thankfully), but they're always so sweet and fun.

- he bought me this birdy one night a year or so ago when we had to stop by walmart and i fell in love with it. when you squeeze it, it makes the most ridiculous squeak. also it's constantly side-eyeing us, which is obviously hilarious. ;)

- one day this week i came home, and he had FILLED my iced coffee pitcher. it's never been filled - i'm always too lazy, so i only ever put one pot of coffee in there! but he filled it and i'm gonna have iced coffee all week! eeeeeeeee!

- waking up to a little note asking me to treat myself on his dime is probably the most adorable, least expected thing (especially since my obsession with these keychains is.. not his favorite thing, haha). he's such a sweet little selfless angel, i don't even know.

austin, i love you. i can't wait to see you monday night! <3<3<3<3 (extra hearts cause i extra love him)

chicago & renegade bound

as you're reading this, bekuh and i are on the road towards chicago. yay! i'm so excited to spend this weekend shopping with two of my favorite girls (becca lives in chicago, so we get to stay with her, too), and taking in all of the handmade at renegade.

i thought a small round-up of some vendors i'm excited about would be appropriate. :)

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alternate histories seems like a store right up austin's alley, and since this trip is partially dedicated to christmas shopping.. i'm excited to check out their booth.

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surprisingly enough, tea towels are something that we're SERIOUSLY lacking at our house. why not stock up on some pretty ones? bespoke uprising has some promising prints on their etsy.

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i knew i was going to love boyfren girlfren solely based on the name of the shop. i'm excited to see what goodies they have at their booth.

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i just really want a jackalope pillow. that shouldn't be a surprise.

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i think i'm maybe becoming a notebook hoarder. but i'm OBSESSED with these from kelso doesn't dance.

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i don't think i'll be able to afford them, but i can't wait to see garth borovicka's bookends and other wooden sculptures. the pizza?! omg.

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i've written about homako here before, so i'm extra excited to finally get my hands on something!

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i basically love everything in iamhome's shop, but i think i'd get more use out of these swimmer magnets than a trophy. but they're so. cute.

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i've been a fan of little pancakes on etsy for a looong time, but i don't think i've ever bought anything. i can't wait to check out her work in person.

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i would kill for one of mimi kirchner's tattooed dolls, but since i definitely cannot afford one, i'm sooo excited to just look at them! so. excited.

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i actually wish that i could buy this valentine for becca, but since she'll be right there with me, it wouldn't be as awesome. i'm excited to see what else owly shadow puppets stocks their booth with.

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obviously i'm excited for tumbleweeds! beca posted a picture of a polka dot pair on her instagram, and i instantly started calculating how much money i was bringing. ;)

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i love everything on uncommon's etsy.

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i'm obviously super excited about all of the jewelry at renegade. water and salt's stuff is gorgeous.

other things i'm going to be on the hunt for: a midwest is best tshirt (because i think it'd be hilarious to own one, idek), a ring for kendall, maybe matching tshirts for avery and i, handmade frames for christmas gifts, and A TON of presents for austin for letting me take this super selfish trip. :)

see you guys next week! <3